STYRIA
“ Balcony of the Alps” – the Sky Walk sits enthroned at 2700 meters above sea level.
A CULTURAL“ CELL“- Admont
Styria is connected with wood and broad forests, with wine and apples, pumpkins and, above all, with a wealth of different foods.
Many think of the culinary delights this province produces, many also of its sporting opportunities and outstanding events- not least the Alpine Ski World Championships in Schladming. And then there are people who think of the culture, history and the rise of human civilization: Abbeys and their libraries have been repositories of knowledge since the Middle Ages. In Admont we find a true superlative, since its library hall is the world’ s biggest. In this 70 meters long, 14 meters wide and 11 meters tall work of art, the book treasures are united with architecture. sculptures and the frescoes of Bartolomeo Altomonte, visually raising the dome towards the heavens. Behind a heavy wooden door, this library reveals itself perhaps differently than we might have expected, as a room full of light and brightness.
The Rule of St. Benedict includes the famous“ ora et labora” but also the word“ lege” –“ pray and work and read”. Admont is a Benedictine monastery which had a scriptorium from the 12th cent. on, in which they wrote their own works, but also copied those of others. These were supplemented by donations, books were exchanged and bought. In seven sections of the hall, each beneath a domed roof, the valuable collection is arranged according to seven major areas: Under the first dome, right after the entrance, works are shelved about art and technology, then comes medicine, in the third section we find theology, beneath the central dome writings about faith, followed by jurisprudence, history and philosophy. Four figures in the central area by baroque sculptor Josef Stammel represent the“ four last things”, Death, the Last Judgment, Heaven and Hell. And every visitor notices one small figure, also Stammel’ s most well-known work: At the foot of the“ Last Judgment” sits a small devil with spectacles and an accounting book. If Admont library represents a pinnacle of ancient book treasures, about which individual visitors can only gain a superficial impression, there is another peak there, from the top of which it is far easier